Buying a home requires teamwork. You need a professional team to work with you: your real estate agent, your mortgage broker, your attorney and your inspectors.

Buying a home without the professional team will not work: you need a loan...you need an agent...you need the attorney...and you really need the inspectors, even if you don't think you do.

Of course, working with a team requires communication and trust. And, that communication and trust must go both ways...

I received a phone call this evening from a woman who wanted to see homes tomorrow. Here are a few snippets from that conversation:

"My agent is not available. Will you show me homes tomorrow?"

"I have not signed anything with this agent and since she is busy tomorrow, I want a new agent."

"You don't need to know who my mortgage broker is. I just need to bring a piece of paper with me tomorrow that shows you I have a mortgage."

"I can buy any home I want. I have a mortgage. You do not need to speak with my mortgage broker."

This "buyer":

Was already dealing with another agent. At least one agent.

Would not provide any information about her mortgage broker

Was willing to find a new agent simply because her agent was busy.

Was looking in a low price range, which possibly meant FHA financing. Not all homes in her price range will qualify for such a loan program.

Was obviously not willing to work as part of a team and allow the team to work together.

I love helping people buy and sell homes. It's what I do.But, if they're not willing to communicate, then I cannot help them. I invest too much time, energy, knowledge and experience in my clients to work with those who will not invest the same to me and the other professionals.

We have to work together when you buy a home. Yes, I do need to speak with the mortgage broker. Yes, I will need to speak with your attorney. Yes, I will need to speak with your inspectors.

Don't want me to speak with them? Then you need to find another agent. You need to find an agent who doesn't care...

Bill - without that team of professionals working together, things won't go too far.

Laura - Exactly! Showing homes is not our job. It is part of our job, but certainly not the main part. Once we find the home they wish to buy, then the real work begins. And, of course, if the buyer won't communicate with us up front, then we're going to have a heck of a time even finding their new home for them...

Debbie - Unfortunately, not everyone realizes that we are running a business. Sometimes we have appointments with other buyers or sellers. Sometimes we have meetings scheduled. Heck, sometimes we even squeeze in a family event or two. We are not available at a buyer's beck and call - especially when they won't even share any information with us!

Don, I wouldn't have worked with this one either. It's important to let Buyers and Sellers that we work together as a team. I tell my Sellers, it's not just me working to sell your home, it's you too. I let them know that the house needs to be in ready to show condition and that we have to try to make it easy for the house to be shown.